Eve
Eve
Rap musician
While many women in the male dominated world of rap and hip-hop often opt to sell records by using blatant sexuality, rapper Eve has chosen to compete on her own terms. Female hip-hop artists who could equal the record sales and street credibility of male rappers are rare, but Eve has joined that exclusive group, which also includes Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot and Da Brat. The self-proclaimed “pit bull in a skirt” got her start as the sole female with the hip-hop label Ruff Ryders. Her debut solo release, 1999’s Lei There Be Eve: Ruff Ryders’ First Lady, debuted at number one on Billboard’s Top 200 and reached platinum sales that same year. Eve escaped one-hit wonder status when she released her sophomore effort, Scorpion, in 2001, prompting Newsweek to call her “hip-hop’s most respected female presence.”
Eve Jihan Jeffers was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, c. 1979, and raised by her mother, Julie Wilcher. They lived in the Mill Creek housing projects until Eve was 14 years old, then moved to a better neighborhood. Eve regularly saw her father when she was younger, but he eventually drifted out of her life. She performed in Philadelphia talent shows with an all-girl singing group called D.G.P., or Dope Girl Posse, as a teenager. She noticed she got more attention as a rapper than she did as a singer, so she switched to rapping at the age of 13. During high school, she rapped under the nickname Eve of Destruction, but she later decided to simply use the name Eve.
Before she was 18 years old, Eve got an incredible break. Some friends arranged an impromptu audition for Eve with high-profile hip-hop artist and producer Dr. Dre. Her friends didn’t tell Dre she was coming, and he was taken aback when a tape was played and Eve, out of nowhere, rapped for him. Dre saw she had talent and immediately signed her to his fledgling Aftermath record label. Eve moved to Los Angeles a week later to begin work with Dre. Though her start was promising, Eve slipped through the cracks at Aftermath, as Dre was preoccupied with the business of running a new label. After a year passed and Dre still had not done anything with Eve, her contract lapsed and she was back in Philadelphia.
In 1997, on a recommendation from Dre’s parent label, Interscope, New York’s Ruff Ryders record label picked Eve’s career up where it had left off with Dre. Ruff Ryders subjected Eve to writing and reciting drills to polish her raw talent. She likened the experience to boot camp, but felt she had to prove herself to them. “That’s what made me a better MC,” she told Newsweek. Her skills refined, Eve appeared on the Ruff Ryders Ryde or Die album. In 1999, she released her first solo album, Let There Be Eve: Ruff Ryders’ First Lady. Although Entertainment Weekly critic David Browne found that Let There Be Eve “wasn’t the knockout it was supposed to be,” he wrote, he admitted that “unlike most of her peers, … [Eve] radiated power.”
For the Record…
Born Eve Jihan Jeffers c. 1979, in Philadelphia, PA.
Rapped under the name Eve of Destruction as a teenager; signed with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath record label, 1996; signed to Ruff Ryders record label, 1997; released Let There Be Eve: Ruff Ryders’ First Lady, 1999; appeared on Ruff Ryders/Cash Money tour, 2000; released Scorpion, 2001.
Addresses: Record company —Interscope Records, 2220 Colorado Ave., 3rd Floor, Santa Monica, CA 90404, website: http://www.interscoperecords.com.
The record-buying public agreed that Eve was at least a powerful record-selling force; Let There Be Eve had sold more than two million copies as of 2001. Hip-hop fans adored Eve’s throaty voice, tough persona, and empowered lyrics. “I just want women to know how strong they are,” she told Time.
Another of Eve’s strengths was that where other female rappers were using blatant sexuality as a tool to compete with the men of hip-hop, Eve refrained, relying solely on her skills. Though she did work a brief, difficult stint as a stripper, “Eve plans not to seduce Adam but to beguile him,” wrote Marie Elsie St. Leger in People. Time writer Christopher John Farley noted that hard-core rappers Foxy Brown and Lil Kim “compete with male rappers by using sex as a weapon. Eve has found a balance: she’s tough enough to run with the big dogs and sensitive enough to hug a small one.” Let There Be Eve, he continued, “established her persona—sexy but not pornographic, in your face but somewhat introspective.”
The release launched the meteoric rise of Eve. Suddenly a double-platinum-selling recording artist, her life changed virtually overnight. She underestimated the drain that touring, publicity, and her other professional responsibilities would have on herself and her personal relationships. On the Ruff Ryder/Cash Money three-month, 30-city tour in 2000, Eve thought it would be fun to take along a few girlfriends. Little did she know that when she stepped offstage exhausted every night, her friends would be ready to party. Her friendships suffered. Though she made a strong showing on the tour and audiences loved her, the offstage pressures proved too much. Eve left the tour prematurely and later admitted the period after the release of Let There Be Eve took a toll on her. The trials of success she faced over the next two years even resulted in a mild depression. “Anybody who tells you that they haven’t been depressed their first time out is lying,” she told Billboard.
In preparation for her second release, Eve underwent a subtle makeover. Irritated by criticism of her weight, she lost about ten pounds. Stylist Kithe Brewster became her constant companion, overseeing the artist’s fashion choices, which became all top-designer. Leading designers like Chanel and Gucci welcomed Eve to choose freely from their lines of high-priced, high-fashion clothing, relishing the media coverage they would receive when the star wore their fashions to high-profile events.
Many artists don’t live up to the hype of their first release and Eve clearly felt the pressure was on for her critical follow-up album. “It was harder,” Eve admitted in Vibe. “But I try not to think about the pressure.” The young artist’s personal changes affected the process as well. “It’s all about growing up,” Ruff Ryders’ co-CEO Chivon Dean pointedout in Vibe. “Eve’s a young woman, and young women go through changes. She was only 20 when she came to us. There’s more maturity now.”
Critics agreed that Scorpion, released in 2001, showcased a broader range of musical styles and was a strong second release. Browne cited the record’s roots in “hard-core stomp, rhymes, boasts, and slams.” But Scorpion also incorporated Latin horns, reggae sounds on a cover of “No, No, No,” co-produced with legendary reggae artist Bob Marley’s son Stephen, and gospel, heard on the duet with 1980s R&B diva Teena Marie called “Life is So Hard.” In addition to cameos by Da Brat and fellow Ruff Ryder labelmate DMX, rock band No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani made an appearance on “Let Me Blow Ya Mind.” Former mentor Dr. Dre reappeared as producer on two of the record’s tracks. When Scorpion was released, Browne called it “more than just a dramatic improvement over its predecessor… Scorpion pumps up the volume, the rhythms, everything.” One of the record’s strengths cited in several reviews was Eve’s exploration of her singing voice in addition to her rapping skills. It was a risk for her to sing, wrote critic Dmitri Ehrlich in Interview, but one from which Eve emerged as “tentative but credible.” Scorpion has been proven both a critical and popular success; the album was certified platinum in May of 2001.
Eve’s second release reflected more of her own creative vision than her first. Songs like “Love is Blind” and “Heaven Only Knows” on Let There Be Eve led Entertainment Weekly writer Barry Walters to criticize Eve as an artist “struggling to shake a gang mentality.” It was clearly a criticism Eve heard, because on Scorpion, she demanded more creative control. “Before, the lyrics were mine, but the vision was pretty much theirs [Ruff Ryders],” she told Newsweek. “After that, I promised myself I would never make a song about shooting, robbing, anything like that, ‘cause it’s not me.” Ehrlich wrote that on Scorpion, Eve demonstrated that hip-hop has a “human, vulnerable side.” “I just do what I feel,” Eve said in an interview with Jet. “I do exactly what comes from my mind and from my heart. I would say it’s more reality than a lot of rap that’s out.” Scorpion was proof that Eve’s vision was right on. “Her intensity never flags,” wrote St. Leger, and declared the release “a hip-hop tour de force.”
Selected discography
(Contributor) Bulworth (soundtrack), Interscope, 1998.
(Contributor) Ryde or Die Vol. 1, Ruff Ryders/lnterscope, 1999.
Let There Be Eve: Ruff Ryders’ First Lady, Ruff Ryders/Interscope, 1999.
Scorpion, Ruff Ryders/Interscope, 2001.
Sources
Periodicals
Billboard, February 10, 2001.
Entertainment Weekly, October 8, 1999, p. 72; March 9, 2001, p. 78.
Interview, November 2000, p. 155; April 2001, p. 80.
Jet, April 9, 2001, p. 58.
Newsweek, March 12, 2001, p. 70.
People, March 19, 2001, p. 41.
Time, March 19, 2001, p. 74.
USA Today, March 6, 2001.
Vibe, March 2001.
Online
“Eve,” All Music Guide, http://www.allmusic.com (May 31, 2001).
Record Industry Association of America, http://www.riaa.com (August 30, 2001).
Ruff Ryders Records, http://www.ruffryders2000.com (May 31, 2001).
—Brenna Sanchez
Eve
Eve
Rapper, actress, and fashion designer
Born Eve Jihan Jeffers, November 10, 1978, in Philadelphia, PA; daughter of Jerry Jeffers (a chemical–plant supervisor) and Julie Wilcher (a medical publishing–company supervisor).
Addresses:
Record label—Ruff Ryder/Interscope Records, 2220 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404. Official website—http://www.evefansonly.com.
Career
Joined Ruff Ryder hip–hop collective, 1998; appeared on Bulworth soundtrack, 1998; appeared on compilation Ryde or Die Vol. 1, 1999; released Let There Be Eve Ruff Ryder's First Lady, 1999; released Scorpion, 2001; released Eve–Olution, 2002. Television appearances include: Third Watch, 2003; Eve, UPN, 2003—; One on One, 2004. Producer of television shows, including: Eve, 2003—. Film appearances include: XXX, 2002; Barbershop, 2002; Barbershop 2, 2004; The Woodsman, 2004; The Cookout, 2004. Debuted fashion line, 2003.
Awards:
Video music award for best female video (with Gwen Stefani), MTV, for "Let Me Blow Ya Mind," 2001; Grammy award for best rap/sung collaboration (with Gwen Stefani), Recording Academy, for "Let Me Blow Ya Mind," 2002.
Sidelights
One of the most successful women in hip–hop, Eve rode her connection with the Ruff Ryders rap collective to quick stardom. Her music and persona claim a successful middle ground between hip–hop women who have embraced feminism and neo–soul and those who trade on a tough image and sex appeal. Her success has reached beyond music: she has shot several films and stars in a television comedy named after her.
Eve was born to a single mother and grew up in housing projects in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She went through her teenage years without seeing her father and has said she has no relationship with him now. As a kid, she toured Philadelphia talent shows in the all–girl singing group Dope Girl Posse, but switched to rapping at the age of 13. "I did any talent show, ever," she told Rolling Stone's Touré. "Anytime they [were having] one, I was there. If I won last week, [I'd be] back." She and her friend, Jennifer Pardue, performed as the rap duo Edjp (which stood for Eve of Destruction Jenny–Poo and was pronounced Egypt) as teenagers. They recorded an album, which helped cement Eve's interest in a music career.
After graduating from high school, Eve dedicated herself to breaking into the music business and began auditioning for a record deal, while working at a record store in Philadelphia and, briefly, at a strip club in New York City (an experience she will not talk about in interviews anymore). "I didn't want to have a regular life—have a baby, get a boyfriend, get married. I just wanted to do things," she told Christian Wright in Allure. Her backup plan was to become a makeup artist, but hitting it big in the music world made that unnecessary.
When she was only 18 years old, hip–hop icon Dr. Dre signed her to his label, Aftermath. Eve moved to Los Angeles, California, and adopted the stage name Eve of Destruction. However, eight months later, Aftermath dropped her, and she returned to Philadelphia, although a song she recorded for the label did end up on the Bulworth soundtrack in 1998. Fortunately, Eve met rap star DMX, who introduced her to the Ruff Ryders, a collective of producers and rappers based in New York. They made her audition on the spot. "They just put a beat on and said, 'All right, yo, let her spit,'" she told Rolling Stone's Touré. "I said rhymes I had written for Dre. If I [had] failed that, I don't know where I'd be now." Instead, she impressed the Ruff Ryders, and they took her in as their only female member. "They made me write and recite, write and recite," Eve told Newsweek's Lorraine Ali. "It was like boot camp. You had to prove yourself to them, and that's what made me a better MC."
Eve's song "What Y'all Want" appeared on the Ruff Ryders' top–selling compilation Ryde or Die Vol. 1, and she guested on The Roots' "You Got Me" and on "Girlfriend/Boyfriend" with Janet Jackson and Blackstreet to build buzz. Her first album, Let There Be Eve Ruff Ryder's First Lady, released in late 1999, debuted at number one—making her one of the few female rappers to accomplish that feat—and sold more than two million copies. Touré, reviewing the album in Rolling Stone, described her as having "an oven–roasted voice, smooth flows and a thuggish attitude for days." The album ranged from drinking and partying anthems to a fantasy about taking revenge on a friend's abusive boyfriend ("Love Is Blind") to her father's absence and her youthful attraction to older men: "Didn't have a daddy/So I put a daddy in his space," she rapped on "Heaven Only Knows."
Mostly produced by Ruff Ryder member Swizz Beatz, the debut album featured the Ryders' tough, fast signature sound. The press responded by endlessly repeating her self–description as a "pit bull in a skirt." Actually, she was striking a balance compared to other female rappers. "It established her persona—sexy but not pornographic, in your face but somewhat introspective," wrote Christopher John Farley in Time, while Newsweek's Ali described her as "playing as tough as the boys, but with a stealthy female elegance. She walks the fine line between the empowering, old–school style of Queen Latifah and the trashy titillation of Lil' Kim." She took pride in being an independent woman. "I don't need a man to support me or keep me happy," she told Interview's Vivien Goldman. Her blond hair, which she had bleached since high school, added to her striking image, though she would later dye it red and bright pink, among other colors.
Her second album, Scorpion, with tracks produced by Stephen and Damian Marley and her then–boyfriend Stevie J, was released in 2001. Dre produced two songs on the album, to help mend fences. Rolling Stone's Arion Berger gave it three stars, but complained that her rhymes were "endless old–school sass with no point deeper than striking a pose." Time's Farley also had a mixed reaction: "Her rapping is more controlled and confident, though she sometimes sacrifices coherence for rhythm, spouting half–thoughts and sentence fragments just to keep her flow going." But the album also included a more creative mix of music, including reggae and Latin horns, and she let down her guard for the hurt of "Life Is So Hard," which she called her favorite song on the album, a soulful duet with R&B singer Teena Marie. "I think it's a good balance of the hard core from the first album and the artist I wanna become as I get older," she told Newsweek's Ali. "Before, the lyrics were mine, but the vision was pretty much [the Ruff Ryders']. Like, there was a song about a heist that was totally the guys' idea. After that, I promised myself I would never make a song about shooting, robbing, anything like that, 'cause it's not me."
Scorpion (named after Eve's astrological sign, Scorpio) went gold within two months, and in the summer of 2001 she toured with R&B group Destiny's Child, pop singer Jessica Simpson, and rapper Nelly on MTV's TRL (Total Request Live) tour. Touré's Rolling Stone profile caught her enjoying her fame and the fortune that followed it: it described Eve and Stevie J driving around Manhattan in Eve's gold BMW, Eve buying diamond rings, earrings, and a necklace worth a total of $100,000, and Eve's accountant, Horace Madison, making her sign a "stupid letter" acknowledging that too many purchases like that could wreck her finances. By this time, the 22–year–old already had a house in New Jersey, a retirement plan, and an portfolio of investments. "From a financial–stability standpoint, Eve's ahead of 85 percent of people in the urban–music business right now," Madison told Touré.
Eve had no reason to worry about her future. Scorpion's second single, "Let Me Blow Ya Mind," her duet with Gwen Stefani of No Doubt, became her biggest success; it won an MTV Video Music Award in 2001 and a Grammy award in 2002. Near the end of 2001, Eve raved to Rolling Stone's Mark Binelli about meeting Courtney Love, and her description of Love could easily work as a description of herself: "She's just raw. She just is who she is, period. She doesn't care, doesn't bite her tongue." Another sign of Eve's success was her entourage; by the summer of 2002, reported Newsweek's Ali, Eve was traveling with five handlers: a publicist, hairstylist, makeup artist, clothing stylist, and bodyguard.
Eve described her next album, 2002's Eve–olution, as more melodic. It featured more neo–soul singing mixed in with the raps. She told Newsweek's Ali that she was listening to reggae and rock more than rap. "I don't listen to a lot of hip–hop anymore because I can't respect it," she added, saying she was tired of hearing her peers rap about guns and selling drugs. But she still considered herself a rapper. "I do enjoy singing, but I'm not a singer," she told Rory Evans in Teen People. "I would never try to hit notes. I'm not Brandy, Monica or Alicia [Keys]. I can hold a note and that's good enough." Still, she did include Keys as a new duet partner, on the album's first single, "Gangsta Lovin.'" She explained to Entertainment Weekly's Tom Sinclair, "Gangsta is just slang that we use for something that's good, or something we love or something that's hot."
The same year, Eve broke into acting with a supporting role in the Vin Diesel action flick XXX and a star turn with fellow rapper Ice Cube and controversial comic Cedric the Entertainer in the successful comedy Barbershop, filmed in an actual Chicago barbershop. She spent a week in barber school to prepare for the movie. Her UPN television series, Eve, debuted in late 2003. "Never, ever in my wildest dreams could I have imagined doing this," she told Margena A. Christian in Jet. "My basic overall goal is to be successful and happy. This is just something that's a bonus." Eve plays a fashion designer living in Miami named Shelly Williams, and the show focuses on Shelly's search for love and the advice she receives from her friends. The show, which had a working title of The Opposite Sex, was written for a white actress, then revamped and renamed for her.
Reviews were mostly terrible. "The good news is, it's only 30 minutes long," wrote the Hollywood Reporter's Ray Richmond. "The star, while sexy, isn't much of an actress, and the writing is lazy and obvious," wrote Terry Kelleher in People, who was irritated by the show's predictable take on relationship issues. But the program's ratings took off after a brief lull, and UPN ordered a full season of the show. Meanwhile, Eve starred in the sequel Barbershop 2: Back in Business, released in early 2004.
Though she started out looking tomboyish, Eve has embraced fashion and shown off a more feminine look in more recent videos. People named her one of the magazine's 50 most beautiful people in 2003. "There is almost no one else who can pull off just about every hair color imaginable and pair those signature paw print tattoos on her chest with an Alexander McQueen gown," wrote Julee Greenberg in the fashion publication WWD. Eve debuted her own sportswear line for young women, Fetish, in the fall of 2003. She appeared in a Victoria's Secret fashion show that November, where People's Steven Cojocaru reported that she "insisted on being covered from head to toe in Francesca Guerrera's Sunset Bronze Loose Powder." Interviewers often find her chatting about her two Yorkshire terriers, Spunky and Bear.
Eve has also filmed a dark movie with Kevin Bacon called The Woodsman, about a pedophile trying to resurrect his career. But she insists acting will not take her away from recording. "I miss my music," she told Christian in Jet. "I miss the world. I do love the stability of acting, but it becomes monotonous after awhile." She planned to enter the studio in the spring of 2004 to record an album for the following fall. However, she did not plan on being a recording star forever. "I don't want to be with a record label for the rest of my life," she told Allure. "Music is the loneliest business. It makes you feel much older than you are. I could live without being in the spotlight. I want to know that when I'm 30, I can settle down if I want to."
Selected discography
Bulworth (soundtrack), Interscope Records, 1998. (Contributor) Ryde or Die Vol. 1, Ruff Ryder Records, 1999.
Let There Be Eve Ruff Ryder's First Lady, Ruff Ryder/Interscope Records, 1999.
Scorpion, Ruff Ryder/Interscope Records, 2001.
Eve–Olution, Ruff Ryder/Interscope Records, 2002.
Sources
Periodicals
Allure, July 2003, pp. 158–61, p. 164.
Daily Variety, November 12, 2003, p. A1.
Entertainment Weekly, March 9, 2001, p. 78; September 20, 2002.
Hollywood Reporter, January 16, 2003, p. 50; September 15, 2003, p. 18.
Interview, November 2000, p. 155.
Jet, April 9, 2001, p. 58; November 10, 2003, p. 60.
Newsweek, March 12, 2001, p. 70; September 2, 2002, p. 61.
People, March 19, 2001, p. 41; September 23, 2002, p. 204; May 12, 2003, p. 149; November 17, 2003, p. 38; December 15, 2003, p. 144; February 16, 2004, p. 27.
Rolling Stone, October 14, 1999, p. 119–120; March 29, 2001, p. 64; July 5, 2001, pp. 58–60; December 6, 2001, p. 124.
Teen People, December 1, 2002, p. 88.
Time, March 19, 2001, p. 74; September 2, 2002, p. 70.
Variety, September 1, 2003, p. S18.
WWD, June 19, 2003, p. 1; August 27, 2003, p. 5; September 4, 2003, p. 20B.
Online
"Eve," All Music Guide, http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDSUB040312131553210342&sql=B5m5tk6ax9kr0 (March 6, 2004).
"Eve," Internet Movie Database, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1073992/ (March 7, 2004).
"Rock on the Net: MTV Video Music Awards 2001," http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2001/mtvvmas.htm (March 6, 2004).
—ErickTrickey
Eve
EVE
The first woman, wife of Adam, and ancestress of all mankind. This article will consider first the biblical data on Eve, and then the place of Eve in dogmatic theology.
In the Bible
The name Eve (Hebrew, hawwâ ) was given, according to Gn 3.20, by the first man to his wife. It occurs only four other times in the Bible: Gn 4.1, Tb 8.8, 2 Cor 11.3, 1 Tm 2.15. Since Eve is the mother of all the living, by popular etymology, the name is related to the Hebrew word for life, hayyâ. The first name given to her by her husband, after God had made her from the man's own body to bring her to him as "a helper like himself," was "woman [’iššâ ], for from man ['îš ] she has been taken" (Gn 2.23). The profound unity and complementary character of man and woman are, thereby, symbolized by the sacred author.
As mother of all the living, Eve plays a very significant role in the context of Gn 3.20. Man had just been punished by being reduced to his natural state of being mortal. In the author's mind, Eve would seem to be the means by which man may attain at least some sort of continued existence.
The woman's role in the Fall is not that of a temptress, since no such action is described in Gn 3.6b, but, that of the first human transgressor of a covenant law (Gn 2.17). Hence, woman's low condition in Israel society, her pains in childbirth, and her husband's dominion over her (Gn 3.16).
Latin tradition, through a mistranslation of Gn 3.15b, introduced the image of Eve crushing the serpent's head that was later transferred to the Blessed Virgin Mary and became a symbol of her Immaculate Conception (see proto-evangelium). Although this meaning is not found in the original text, Eve, nevertheless, as mother of all the living, is an apt figure for the Mother of all those alive in Christ.
Bibliography: e. magenot, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique 5.2:1640–55. a. m. dubarle, "Les fondements bibliques du titre marial de nouvelle Eve," Revue du sciences religieuses 30 (1951) 49–64.
[t. r. heath]
In Theology
Among the Fathers of the Church, Justin was the first to add the feminine counterpart to the Christ-Adam parallel. He contrasts mary, Blessed Virgin, with Eve, seeing in the former obedience and life and in the latter disobedience and death. Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus, Methodius, Tertullian, and Augustine all commented on Eve, but usually to bring out Mary's greatness. Augustine sees a symbol in the account of Eve's creation from the side of Adam. She is made from man's bone to give her some of man's strength, and in the place of the removed rib the man has flesh to give him some of woman's tenderness (Gen. ad litt. 9.18.34, Patrologia Latina 34:407). Aquinas writes that the manner of production of the woman from the side of man signifies the social union of man and woman, "for the woman should neither exercise authority over the man [cf. 1 Tm 2.12] and so she was not made from his head; nor is it right for her to be subject to man's contempt as his slave, and so she was not made from his feet." He also sees a Christian sacramental symbol there, "for from the side of Christ sleeping on the cross the sacraments flowed, namely blood and water, by which the Church was established" (Summa theologiae 1a, 92.3). Scholastics generally follow patristic studies on Eve, seeing her either as a contrasting type of Mary or of the Church.
With the advance of knowledge in scientific fields, especially in those dealing with the origins of man (see evolution), many questions arise. Is Eve only a symbol or a historical personage? Can there be many Eves? Did she share in the gifts given to her husband? While there has never been any formal definition of the Church concerning Eve, the cautions of Pius XII regarding recent teachings on Adam would apply also to her. Whatever is said about Eve must be consistent with Catholic doctrine
on original sin and the immediate creation of the soul by God [H. Denzinger, Enchiridion symbolorum, ed. A. Schönmetzer (32d ed. Freiburg 1963) 3896–97; see adam (in theology)].
Catholic scholars since M. J. Lagrange have accepted the general theory of the literary form of the creation accounts in Genesis. The woman plays a prominent role both in creation, where her appearance is seen as the finishing touch to all that God has made, and in the paradisal sin, where the beliefs and practices of pagan religions current at the time of the authorship of the account are contrasted. These beliefs deified the female principle and regarded sexual excess in the fertility rites as an act of worship. But in practice, women were treated as socially inferior and the creature of man's pleasure. The creation story tells us of the dignity of woman, her equality with man, and the divine origin of the differences in sex. The account of the sin warns against woman's idolatrous attempts to share the divine prerogative of procreation by participating in the fertility rites of the pagan gods, since that is abominable to God and punished by Him. The Catholic teaching about the dignity of woman, her vocation as a child of God, equal in nature and grace to man, and the sacredness of the marital relationship is thus seen
grounded in the Genesis story (see woman, catholic teaching on).
See Also: genesis, book of.
Bibliography: Dictionnaire de théologie catholique. Tables générales 1:14510–51. h. junker, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner, 10 v. (2d new ed. Freiburg 1957–65) 3:1215–16. thomas aquinas, Summa theologiae 1a, 90–102, and commentary by h. d. gardeil in Somme théologique I. 90–102: Les Origines de l'homme, tr. a. patfoort (Paris 1963) 423–451. j. coppens, La Connaissance du bien et du mal et le péché du Paradis (Louvain 1948). j. de fraine, The Bible and the Origins of Man (New York 1962). a. m. dubarle, Le Péché originel dans l'Écriture (Paris 1958). c. hauret, Beginnings: Genesis and Modern Science, tr. and ed. e. p. emmans (2d ed. Dubuque 1964). m. m. labourdette, Le Péché originel et les origines de l'homme (Paris 1953). j. l. mckenzie, Myths and Realities (Milwaukee 1963) 146–181. r. j. nogar, The Wisdom of Evolution (Garden City, NY 1963). h. renckens, Israel's Concept of the Beginning, tr. c. napier (New York 1964). a. robert and a. tricot, Guide to the Bible, tr. e. p. arbez and m. p. mcguire, 2 v. (Tournai-New York 1951–55; v. 1, rev. and enl. 1960) 1:174, bibliog. on European and American lit. to 1960. l. f. hartman, "Sin in Paradise," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 20 (1958) 26–40, with fine bibliog. c. reilly, "Adam and Primitive Man," Irish Theological Quarterly 26 (1959) 331–345. c. vollert, "Evolution and the Bible," Symposium on Evolution (Pittsburgh 1959) 81–119.
[e. h. peters]
Eve
EVE
EVE , or, in Hebrew, Ḥavvah; the first woman in the creation narratives of the Hebrew Bible, according to which she was formed from one of the ribs of Adam, the first man (Gn. 2:21–23). In this account the creator god wished for Adam to have a mate and so brought all the beasts of the fold and birds of the sky before him to see what he would call each one (Gn. 2:19). However, among these creatures the man found no one to be his companion (Gn. 2:20). Accordingly, this episode is not solely an etiology of the primal naming of all creatures by the male ancestor of the human race but an account of how this man (ish) found no helpmeet until a woman was formed from one of his ribs, whom he named "woman" (ishshah; Gn. 2:23). This account is juxtaposed with a comment that serves etiologically to establish the social institution of marriage wherein a male leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife so that they become "one flesh" together (Gn. 2:24). The matrimonial union is thus a reunion of a primordial situation when the woman was, literally and figuratively, flesh of man's flesh.
Such a version of the origin of the woman, as a special creation from Adam's body, stands in marked contrast to the creation tradition found in Genesis 1:27b, where there is a hint that the primordial person (adam) was in fact an androgyne. Alternatively, this latter half-verse may have been concerned with correcting a tradition of an originally lone male by the statement that both male and female were simultaneously created as the first "Adam."
This mythic image of a male as the source of all human life (Gn. 2:21–22) reflects a male fantasy of self-sufficiency. The subsequent narrative introduces a more realistic perspective. Thus, after the woman has succumbed to the wiles of the snake, eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and shared it with her husband, she is acknowledged as a source of new life—albeit with negative overtones, since the narrative stresses the punishment of pain that must be borne by Adam's mate and all her female descendants during pregnancy and childbirth. In token of her role as human genetrix, the man gave to the woman a new name: she was thenceforth called Eve—"for she was the mother of all life" (Gn. 2:19).
This new name, Eve (Heb., Ḥavvah ), is in fact a pun on the noun for "life" (Heb., ḥay ), since both ḥavvah and ḥay allude to old Semitic words (in Aramaic, Phoenician, and Arabic) for "serpent," as the ancient rabbis noted. Another intriguing cross-cultural pun should be recalled, insofar as it may also underlie the key motifs of the biblical narrative. Thus, in a Sumerian myth it is told that when Enki had a pain in his rib, Ninhursaga caused Nin-ti ("woman of the rib") to be created from him. Strikingly, the Sumerian logogram ti (in the goddess's name) stands for both "rib" and "life."
According to one rabbinic midrash, Eve was taken from the thirteenth rib of Adam's right side after Lilith, his first wife, had left him (Pirqei de-Rabbi Eliʿezer 20). Other legends emphasize Eve's susceptibility to guile and persuasion. Christian traditions use the episode of Eve to encourage the submission of women to their husbands (cf. 2 Cor. 11:3, 1 Tm. 2:22–25). Several church fathers typologically compared Eve with Mary, the "new Eve" and mother of Jesus: the sinfulness and disobedience of the former were specifically contrasted with the latter. The temptation motif and the banishment of Eve and Adam are frequently found in medieval Jewish and Christian illuminated manuscripts and in Persian iconography. The theme is also found in medieval morality plays and in the apocalyptic tract Life of Adam and Eve.
See Also
Bibliography
Ginzberg, Louis. The Legends of the Jews (1909–1938). 7 vols. Translated by Henrietta Szold et al. Reprint, Philadelphia, 1937–1966. See the index, s.v. Eve.
Mangenot, Eugène. "Eve." In Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, vol. 5, cols. 1640–1655. Paris, 1913.
Speiser, E. A. "Genesis." Anchor Bible, vol. 1. Garden City, N.Y., 1964.
Michael Fishbane (1987)
Eve 1978–
Eve 1978–
(Eve of Destruction, Gangsta, E. Jeffers)
PERSONAL
Full name, Eve Jihan Jeffers; born November 10, 1978, in Philadelphia, PA; daughter of Jerry Jeffers (a chemical plant supervisor) and Julia Wilch (a publishing company supervisor).
Addresses: Agent—David Park, United Talent Agency, 9560 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Manager—Sanctuary Artist Management, 9255 Sunset Blvd., Suite 200, Los Angeles, CA 90069; David Schiff, Schiff Co., 9560 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Publicist—Monique Huey, PMK/HBH Public Relations, 8500 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 700, Beverly Hills, CA 90211.
Career: Actress, producer, singer, and lyricist. Rap music performer, as Eve of Destruction; performed with EDJP as Gangsta and as master of ceremonies for local rap concerts; also toured with other performers. Fetish by Eve (clothing and accessory line), creator, 2004; model, including work for Tommy Hilfiger; appeared in commercials for Clarica, 2002, Pepsi soft drinks, 2005, and other products. Worked briefly as a stripper.
Awards, Honors: Grammy Award, best rap/song collaboration, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and MTV Video Music Award, both with Gwen Stefani, 2001, for "Let Me Blow Ya Mind;" Image Award nomination, outstanding supporting actress in a motion picture, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, MTV Movie Award nomination, breakthrough female performance, and Teen Choice Award nomination, choice female movie breakout star, all 2003, for Barbershop; Teen Choice Award nominations, choice female breakout television star and choice television actress in a comedy, both 2004, for Eve; Black Reel Award nomination, best actress in an independent film, 2005, for The Woodsman; Gold record certification, Recording Industry Association of America, for Let There Be … Eve: Ruff Ryder's First Lady; and platinum record certification, for Scorpion.
CREDITS
Film Appearances:
Backstage, Dimension Films, 2000.
Terri Jones, Barbershop, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2002.
J. J., xXx (also known as Triple X), 2002.
Herself, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Columbia, 2003.
Swank XXX #1, Swank Digital, 2004.
Mary-Kay, The Woodsman, Newmarket Films, 2004.
Terri Jones, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2004.
Becky, The Cookout, Lions Gate Films, 2004.
Film Work; Song Performer:
"Eve of Destruction," Bulworth, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1998.
(As E. Jeffers) "Move Right Now," Any Given Sunday, Warner Bros., 1999.
"Let Go (Hit the Dance Floor)," Bringing Down the House, Buena Vista, 2003.
"Your Love (L.O.V.E. Reggae Mix)," 50 First Dates, Sony Pictures Releasing, 2004.
Television Appearances; Series:
Michelle "Shelly" Penelope Williams, Eve, UPN, 2003.
Television Appearances; Specials:
MTV Fashionably Loud: Miami, MTV, 1999.
One Love: The Bob Marley All-Star Tribute, TNT, 1999.
@MTV with Eve, MTV, 2000.
Interviewee, TRL Uncensored, MTV, 2000.
Teen People's 25 Hottest Stars under 25, ABC, 2000.
MTV Video Music Awards Opening Act, MTV, 2001.
Billboard's Rock 'n' Roll New Year's Eve, Fox, 2001.
Spring Bling 2001: Beach Towel Throwdown II, Black Entertainment Television, 2001.
NFC team member, Rock'n Jock Super Bowl XXXV, MTV, 2001.
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, CBS, 2003.
Presenter, VH1 Big in '03, VH1, 2003.
Interviewee, Snoop to the Extreme, MTV, 2003.
The 6th Annual Sears Soul Train Christmas Starfest, UPN, 2003.
Interviewee, Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott: The E! True Hollywood Story, E! Entertainment Television, 2004.
VH1 Divas 2004, VH1, 2004.
Interviewee, Maxim Hot 100, VH1, 2004.
Television Appearances; Episodic:
Contestant, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, ABC, 2001.
Yvette Powell, "Second Changes," Third Watch, NBC, 2003.
Cheyenne Tate and the Talon, "Keeping Secrets," Spider-Man, MTV, 2003.
Ida, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Hip Hop World," One on One, UPN, 2004.
"Bling It On," The Apprentice 3, NBC, 2005.
Appeared in "Becoming Eve," an episode of Becoming; also interviewee for an episode of MTV20: Grab the Mic—A Hip-Hop History, MTV.
Television Guest Appearances; Episodic:
Late Night with Conan O'Brien, NBC, 1999.
Soul Train, 1999, 2000, 2004.
"Who's That Girl?," Making the Video, MTV, 2001.
Saturday Night Live, NBC, 2001, 2002, 2005.
"Gangsta Love," Making the Video, MTV, 2002.
Top of the Pops, 2002.
Substitute host, TRL, 2002.
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, 2002.
The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, CBS, 2002, 2003, 2004.
Late Show with David Letterman, CBS, 2002, 2004.
Popworld, 2003.
Tinseltown TV, International Channel, 2003.
Jimmy Kimmel Live, 2003.
"Not Today," Making the Video, MTV, 2003.
"Inside XIII," X-Play, 2003.
Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show, syndicated, 2003, 2004.
"Triple Threats," Real Access, 2004.
The View, ABC, 2004.
Last Call with Carson Daly, NBC, 2004.
The Wayne Brady Show, syndicated, 2004.
Punk'd, MTV, 2004.
Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, syndicated, 2004.
On Air with Ryan Seacrest, 2004.
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, ITV (England), 2005.
CD:UK, ITV, 2005.
Good Morning America, ABC, 2005.
Also appeared in "Satisfaction," an episode of Access Granted.
Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:
The Annual Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards, syndicated, 1999, 2000, 2001.
Presenter, The 27th Annual American Music Awards, ABC, 2000.
Presenter, The 2000 Radio Music Awards, ABC, 2000.
Presenter, The MTV Video Music Awards, MTV, 2000, 2001.
Essence Awards, Fox, 2001.
1st Annual BET Awards, Black Entertainment Television, 2001.
Presenter, The 2001 Billboard Music Awards, Fox, 2001.
The Teen Choice Awards 2001, 2001.
The 14th Annual Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, Nickelodeon, 2001.
Young Hollywood Awards, 2003.
Presenter, The 45th Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 2003.
The 34th NAACP Image Awards, Fox, 2003.
2003 Vibe Awards: Beats, Style, Flavor, UPN, 2003.
The Second Annual Vibe Awards, UPN, 2004.
Presenter, The 2004 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, E! Entertainment Television, 2004.
Presenter, The 2004 MTV Movie Awards, MTV, 2004.
The 47th Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 2005.
Television Appearances; Miniseries:
Herself (in archive footage), And You Don't Stop: 30 Years of Hip-Hop, VH1, 2004.
Television Work; Series:
Co-executive producer, Eve, UPN, 2003.
RECORDINGS
Albums:
(Contributor) Bulworth (film soundtrack recording), Interscope, 1998.
Let There Be … Eve: Ruff Ryder's First Lady, Ruff Ryders/Interscope/Universal, 1999.
(Contributor) Ryde or Die, Vol. 1., Ruff Ryders/Interscope, 1999.
Scorpion, Ruff Riders/Interscope/Universal, 2001.
Eve-Olution, Ruff Ryders/Interscope/Universal, 2002.
Videos:
Hip-Hop VIPs, 2002.
Scarface: Origins of a Hip Hop Classic (also known as Def Jam Presents … Origins of a Hip Hop Classic), Universal Studios Home Video, 2003.
Voice of Major Jones, XIII (video game), Ubi Soft Entertainment, 2003.
Female American Rap Stars, Ardustry Home Entertainment, 2004.
Appeared in music videos, including "Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Elliott, 2001; "Girlfriend/Boyfriend" by Black-street; "Gossip Folks" by Missy Elliott; "How's It Goin' Down" by DMX; "No Pigeons" by Sporty Thieves; "Rich Girl" by Gwen Stefani; and "Will 2K" by Will Smith.
WRITINGS
Songs Featured in Films:
"Eve of Destruction," Bulworth, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1998.
(As E. Jeffers) "Move Right Now," Any Given Sunday, Warner Bros., 1999.
(As E. Jeffers) "Let Me Be," Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (also known as The Klumps), Universal, 2000.
Barbershop, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2002.
"Let Go (Hit the Dance Floor)," Bringing Down the House, Buena Vista, 2003.
OTHER SOURCES
Books:
Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 29, Gale, 2001.
Contemporary Musicians, Volume 34, Gale, 2002.
Newsmakers, Issue 3, Gale, 2004.
Periodicals:
Allure, July, 2003, pp. 158-161, 164.
Computer Games, January, 2004 p. 28.
Entertainment Weekly, October 8, 1999, p. 72; March 9, 2001, p. 78; September 20, 2002.
Interview, November, 2000, p. 155; April, 2001, p. 80; September, 2002, p. 192.
Jet, April 9, 2001, p. 58; November 10, 2003, p. 60.
Newsweek, March 12, 2001, p. 70; September 2, 2002, p. 60.
People Weekly, September 9, 2002, p. 39; September 23, 2002, p. 204; November 17, 2003, p. 38; December 15, 2003, p. 144; February 16, 2004, p. 27.
Rolling Stone, October 14, 1999, pp. 119-120; March 29, 2001, p. 64; July 5, 2001, pp. 58-60; December 6, 2001, p. 124.
Teen People, December 1, 2002, p. 88.
USA Today, March 6, 2001.
Variety, September 1, 2003, p. S18.
Vibe, February, 2001.
Eve
EVE
EVE (Heb. חַוָּה, Ḥavvah), the first woman, wife of *Adam, and mother of the human race. After Adam had reviewed and assigned names to the animals, but had not found a suitable mate among them, God put him to sleep, removed one of his ribs, and formed it into a woman. Adam immediately recognized this being as an integral part of himself, his own bone and flesh, and called her "Woman" (Heb. 'ishah) because she was taken "from Man" (Heb. 'ish). (Unlike the two English words, the Hebrew ones are completely unrelated etymologically, despite their outward resemblance.) For this reason, a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife so that two become one (Gen. 2:23–24).
It was the woman whom the serpent induced to eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and she in turn gave some to her husband to eat. It brought them intellectual maturity (some say also sexual awareness, but this was more likely born with the first recognition of physical kinship; see above), and earned for the woman the pain of childbirth and subjection to her husband, and for the man drudgery. After this incident, Adam named his wife Eve Ḥavvah because she was "the Mother of all Living" (Gen. 3:20), an epithet with strong mythical overtones suggesting that Eve was originally a goddess who was demythologized by the biblical writer. The Greek translates the name as Zōē ("life"), in keeping with the wordplay. Rabbinic exegesis, however, connected the name with Aramaic ḥewyā ("serpent"), and observed that the serpent was her undoing and that she was her husband's "serpent." This etymology has been revived in recent times by the connection of the name with a ḥwt, probably Hawwat, a Phoenician deity attested in a stela from Carthage in North Africa, and on urns from Cagliari in Italy. That she was a serpent-goddess is based only on the Aramaic etymology.
In biblical Hebrew (Job 18:12) şēlāʿ is an epithet meaning "wife." Eve's creation from Adam's rib or side (Heb. şēlāʿ) provides the epithet with an etiology. The Sumerian Paradise Myth of Enki and Ninhursag provides another possible sidelight on the role of the rib in the biblical story. When Enki had a pain in his rib, Ninhursag caused the goddess Nin-ti, "Lady of the Rib," to be born from him. The Sumerian logo-gram ti means both "rib" and "life," and it may be that the Mesopotamian "Rib Lady" lies behind the rib/life motif in the biblical story.
Eve gave birth to Cain and Abel (Gen. 4:1–2), and after Abel was murdered, she gave birth to Seth as a replacement (Gen. 4:25). The etiology of women's sexual subjugation to their husbands (Gen 4:16) is extended in the New Testament. According to i Tim. 2:14, the story of Eve's creation after Adam and the fact that she, not he, was deceived justify female subjection to men and their exclusion from speaking roles in the church. Although nothing further is related of Eve in the Bible, her figure continues to generate an enormous amount of feminist and theological literature.
[Marvin H. Pope /
S. David Sperling (2nd ed.)]
In the Aggadah
Eve was created from the 13th rib on Adam's right side (Targ. Jon., Gen. 2:21) after Adam's first wife, *Lilith, left him. God chose not to create her from Adam's head, lest she be swellheaded; nor from his eye, lest she be a flirt; nor from his ear, lest she be an eavesdropper; nor from his mouth, lest she be a gossip; nor from his heart, lest she be prone to jealousy; nor from his hand, lest she be thievish; nor from his foot, lest she be a gadabout (Gen. R. 18:2). As soon as Adam beheld Eve, who was exceedingly beautiful (bb 58a), he embraced and kissed her. He called her Ishah (אישה), and himself Ish (איש), the addition of the letter yod to his name and the letter he to hers indicating that as long as they walked in a godly path, the Divine Name (Yod-He) would protect them against all harm. However, if they went astray, His Name would be withdrawn, and there would remain only esh (אש, "fire"), which would consume them. Ten resplendent bridal canopies, studded with gems, pearls, and gold, were erected for Eve by God, who Himself gave her away in marriage and pronounced the blessings, while angels danced and beat timbrels and stood guard over the bridal chamber (pdre 12).
*Samael (Satan), prompted by jealousy, chose the serpent to mislead Eve (pdre 13). According to another tradition, the serpent itself wished to lead Eve to sin since it desired her (Sot. 9b; Shab. 196a). The serpent approached Eve rather than Adam since it knew that women are more readily persuaded (arn1 1:4). Initially, Eve hesitated to eat the fruit itself, and only did so after touching the tree and discovering that no harm befell her (Yal., Gen. 26). Immediately she saw the Angel of Death before her. Expecting her end to be imminent, she resolved to make Adam also eat of the forbidden fruit lest he take another wife after her death (pdre 13). Nine curses and death were pronounced on Eve in consequence of her disobedience (pdre 1). Eve conceived and bore Cain and Abel, according to one view, on the day of her expulsion from Eden (Gen. R. 22:2). Afterward Adam and Eve lived apart for 130 years (Er. 18b). After they were reunited, she bore Seth (Gen. R. 23:5). When Eve died, she was interred beside Adam in the cave of Machpelah in Hebron (pdre 20).
In Christian Tradition
The New Testament mentions the deception of Eve as a warning to Christians (ii Cor. 11:3), and stresses Adam's precedence in support of the view that women ought to be submissive and find their fulfillment in childbearing (i Tim. 2:11–15; cf. i Cor. 11:8–12). While Eve does not figure as a type in the New Testament, Paul's doctrine of the "New Adam" (i.e., Jesus) and his implicit comparison of Eve and the Church (Eph. 5:22–23) anticipate the development of later Christian typology according to which the creation of Eve from Adam's rib represents the emergence of the Church from the open wound in the side of Jesus upon the cross.
Justin, Irenaeus, and other Church Fathers compared and contrasted Eve, the first woman, and Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary is seen as "new Eve," a title which Paul assigned to the Church collectively. The disobedience and the infidelity of the first (who, like Mary, was married and a virgin at the time of sin) is contrasted with and followed by the obedience and faith of the second. Eve is thus restored to wholeness in the Virgin Mary as Adam is in Jesus. Protestants, in their opposition to the Catholic veneration of Mary, did not develop this typology (see *Adam in Christianity).
In Islam
Eve (Ar. Hawwāʾ), the name of Adam's wife, is not mentioned expressly in the Koran; she is called the "spouse" in the tale of their sinning against Allah, having been influenced by Iblīs, the Satan (7:18, 20:115). Nevertheless, this name is found in three poems of the old-Arabic poetry, one of *Umayya ibn Abī-al-Salt and two of ʿAdī ibn Zayd, a Christian living in the times of Muhammad. (The third poem is suspected to be a falsification.)
For Eve in the arts, see *Adam, In the Arts.
[Haïm Z'ew Hirschberg]
bibliography:
H. Gressmann, in: arw, 10 (1907), 358ff.; S. Reinach, in: rhr, 78 (1918), 185ff.; A.H. Krappe, in: Gaster Anniversary Volume (1936), 312–22; T.C. Vriezen, Onderzoek naar de Paradijsvoorstelling (1937); S.N. Kramer, Enki and Ninhursag (1945); idem, History Begins at Sumer (1958), 195–6; J. Heller, in: Archiv Orientalni, 26 (1958), 636–58 (Ger.). in the aggadah: Ginzberg, Legends, index. in christian tradition:New Catholic Encyclopedia, 5 (1967), 655–7; Dictionnaire de Théologie Catholique, 5 (1913), 1640–55; Dubarle, in: Recherches de Science Religieuse, 39 (1951), 49–64. in islam: J. Horovitz, Koranische Untersuchungen (1926), 108–9; Hirschberg, in: Rocznik Orientalistyczny, 9 (1933), 22–36; J. Eisenberg and G. Vajda, in: eis2 (1966). add. bibliography: kai ii, 102–3; E. Pagels, Adam, Eve and the Serpent (1988); H. Wallace, in: abd ii, 666–67; N. Wyatt, in: ddd, 316–17.
Eve
EVE
Born: Eve Jihan Jeffers; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 10 November 1978
Genre: Rap
Best-selling album since 1990: Eve: Ruff Ryders' First Lady (1999)
Hit songs since 1990: "Gangsta Lovin'," "Let Me Blow Ya Mind"
Female rappers have long had a tougher road to success than men in the male-dominated industry, but the career path of Eve Jeffers was even more difficult given her surroundings. One of the few women in the macho New York rap collective Ruff Ryders, Eve not only rose above the rigors of the rap business, but she also became a superstar with a mixture of street-tough rhymes, soulful singing, and fashion-savvy panache, earning the nickname "pit bull in a skirt."
An award-winning short story writer by the third grade, Philadelphia's Eve Jihan Jeffers performed in local talent shows as a teenager with the all-girl singing group Dope Girl Posse in the mid-1990s, later performing in the female R&B group EDJP (pronounced Egypt). After splitting from the quintet and adopting the name Eve of Destruction, Eve practically dropped out of high school to hone her rapping skills, gaining notice on the local scene for her skills at talent shows and as a warm-up act for local hip-hop concerts. While working briefly as a dancer at an adult club in New York in the late 1990s, Eve was reportedly encouraged by one of the patrons (retired rapper Ma$e) to consider a career in hip-hop.
A short time later a friend arranged for her to have an impromptu audition for the legendary rapper/producer Dr. Dre, who liked Eve's rapping enough to sign her to a one-year contract with his label, Aftermath. Though her contract expired before she was able to record an album for the label, Eve did complete the song "Eve of Destruction" for the soundtrack to the Warren Beatty comedy Bulworth (1998). While in Los Angeles working with Dre, Eve made the acquaintance of the up-and-coming rapper DMX, with whom she kept in touch after her return to Philadelphia, often traveling to New York to spend time with the rapper and his crew, dubbed the Ruff Ryders.
In 1999, Eve became the first female artist signed to the male-dominated, testosterone-heavy label, also named Ruff Ryders, appearing on their first multi-artist compilation, Ryde or Die Vol. 1 (1999), and releasing her solo debut, Eve: Ruff Ryders First Lady, five months later. The number one-charting album mixes gritty, profane, boast-heavy rapping with girlish, sweet pop choruses on the breakout hit "Gotta Man."
Not content to be the token female in a male crew, Eve took control of her career, co-writing all of the album's songs and developing a distinctive style that melded tough-as-nails rapping ("Tried to break us / But we broke through / Got the job done") with controlled, come-hither singing ("Ain't Got No Dough"). The album also features a strong feminist vibe, with Eve vowing to avenge a battered friend in "Love Is Blind," which alternates the rapper's blunt rhymes with her mellifluous R&B singing on the chorus.
The formula was one that Eve would use to great effect, not just in her singing, but also in her appearance. While sporting close-cropped, dyed blonde hair and a pair of menacing tiger paw tattoos above her breasts, Eve was frequently dressed in high fashion ensembles and tasteful makeup, earning her another distinction as "a gangsta and a lady." This image was contrary to such other successful female rappers as Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown, who gained popularity through a mix of sexually explicit lyrics and revealing clothing. Eve's debut went on to sell more than 2 million copies, a bona fide hit for a first album.
Eve Blows Minds with Hit Single
While Scorpion (2001) featured a number of raw, biting tracks, it was a duet, "Let Me Blow Ya Mind," with a pop singer, No Doubt's Gwen Stefani, which thrust the rapper into superstar status. Over a slinky funk beat that ranks among Dre's classic productions, Eve raps about people who put on airs, while Stefani adds a sing-songy rhythm and blues chorus. The hit song was accompanied by a very popular music video and gained a wider audience for the rapper.
In "Cowboy," Eve, rapping over a country-western beat, strikes out at people who would denigrate her skills; "You Had Me, You Lost Me" aims for revenge over rock and roll guitars. The album features a wide range of styles (Latin horns, reggae) and guest vocalists, from funk singer Teena Marie to rappers DMX, Da Brat, Drag-On, Trina, the LOX, and reggae singers Damian and Stephen Marley.
Like many hip-hop artists, Eve longed for more than music stardom; she branched out into the movies in 2002 with well-received supporting roles in the action drama XXX and the comedy Barbershop. Focusing more on smooth R&B than hard-core rapping, Eve-Olution (2002) presents a shift in direction for Eve. Though still possessing a stinging, in-your-face rhyme style, Eve embellishes more of her third album's tracks with seductive rhythm and blues beats and choruses, singing as much as rapping and featuring scaled-back cameos from guest rappers.
In the fashion of her hit with Stefani, the alluring hip-hop/pop song "Gangsta Lovin'" is a duet with the hot rhythm and blues performer Alicia Keys singing a seductive chorus to Eve's smoothly delivered boasts. Both "Irresistible Chick" and "Satisfaction" hark back to old-school hip-hop with simple, bouncy rhythms and elemental funk bass and guitar lines. On the latter, Eve sings a bewitching, girlish chorus in which she vows never to go back to her former financially strapped state: "Anything I want, I'ma get it cuz you know I need it / . . . Gotta have it, bet I'm gonna grab it."
With poise and grace the Philadelphia rapper Eve catapulted from struggling musician to world-renowned pop star and high-fashion jet setter in just a few years. Her combination of rough-and-ready lyrics, classic beauty, and spirited feminism proved that although sex can sell, sometimes strength is sexier.
SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:
Eve: Ruff Ryders' First Lady (Ruff Ryders/Interscope, 1999); Scorpion (Ruff Ryders/Interscope, 2001); Eve-Olution (Ruff Ryders/Interscope, 2002).
WEBSITES:
www.ruffryders.com/eve.
gil kaufman
Eve
Eve
Biblical woman, written as the first woman, wife of Adam, and the ancestor of the human race. Name variations: (Hebrew) hawwâ (life). Created by God from Adam to be his companion in the Garden of Eden (Book of Genesis); children: Cain, Abel, and Seth, among others.
The Book of Genesis (Chapters 2 and 3) relates the story of the creation of Adam from "the dust of the ground," and Eve from the rib of Adam, so that they might live together in closeness and permanency forever. ("Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.") Placed in the Garden of Eden, the first couple were sanctioned by God to eat of the fruit from any trees in the garden except that from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The couple lived in innocent contentment until Eve was lured by the serpent (Satan) to partake of the forbidden fruit, which she ate, then tempted Adam to do the same. Immediately upon this transgression, they became aware and ashamed of their nakedness. For their disobedience, God expelled them from the Garden of Eden; Eve was
made to suffer the pain of childbirth and her husband's dominion over her, and Adam was made to toil for a living by the sweat of his brow. Their greatest punishment was eventual death.
After the expulsion, Adam and Eve lived many years and gave birth to both sons and daughters, although the Bible calls only three by name: sons Cain, Abel, and Seth. There are only hints about Eve's life after leaving Eden. It is written that her first son Cain grew into "a sullen, self-willed, haughty, vindictive man" (Genesis 4), who, in an act of jealously, murdered his brother Abel. For his crime, God exiled Cain to a life of wandering and placed upon him "the mark of Cain." Eve named her third son Seth, meaning appointed or a substitute, saying "for God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew" (Genesis 4:25; 5:3).
Biblical scholars now view the story of Genesis as an expression of the sacred authors' beliefs concerning the relationship of humans with God and the universe, and the human journey is fore-shadowed in the experience of Adam and Eve.
Eve
In Islam the wife of Adam is mentioned in the Qurʾān, but not by name. Further details, including the name Eve (Arab., Hawwāʾ), are given in legends, probably from Rabbinic and Syriac sources. Ḥawwāʾ died two years after Adam and was buried beside him at Mecca.